David Nicholls’ One Day is perhaps one of the most beautiful, yet equally devastating novels of the last twenty years. When it was announced that the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh was producing a musical in collaboration with Melting Pot, a mix of anticipation and concern flooded the theatre industry as to whether they could take this stunning story that spans almost twenty years, and make it land within the limited time of a stage show. Judgement day has arrived with One Day: The Musical currently playing the Lyceum until Sunday 19th April 2026.
Emma walks into Dexter’s life on the night of their graduation. One unsuspecting day that changes them both forever. But where will they be on this day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows?
For One Day to work on stage, you need the perfect Em & Dex. From the offset you need the two performers to grip the audience, all whilst creating intimate chemistry, delivering comedic nuance, tense drama and also holding their own individual narratives. This production nails that with Jamie Muscato as Dexter Mayhew and Sharon Rose as Emma Morley.
Jamie Muscato nails the Hugh Grant toff persona, with that gleeful cheeky chap grin. Yet, there’s a great depth to this portrayal. Jamie embraces Dexter’s flaws and allows the audience to see beneath the veil of the persona he invented for himself. There’s fragility and vulnerability in the core of Jamie’s depiction of Dexter; this helps to build the emotional journey and actually make the audience care for the character. All of this is layered with gorgeous vocals that never feel forced, but rather act as a device to complement Dexter’s narrative.
Sharon Rose brings us a confident, conflicted and mostly joyous Emma, who embraces life’s ups and downs, to get her on the right path. Sharon’s Emma is much more grounded and acts as a brilliant opposite to Jamie’s Dexter. One of the most poignant and beautiful musical numbers is Blackbirds performed by Emma as dusk turns to dawn on the evening the pair meet. It’s a heartwarming song performed stunningly by Sharon. Sharon’s portrayal of heartache, frustration, and love breathes so much life into Emma. One small criticism is that Emma’s northern accent sometimes drops during dialogue. However, this is a minor issue with a role that ultimately involves Sharon never being off stage and seamlessly captivating the audience with Emma’s journey.
Accompanying the leads is an excellent supporting cast supplying incredible performances. Notable mentions have to go to David Birrell as Stephen Mayhew and Josefina Gabrielle as Alison Mayhew. Josefina’s performance of Life Worth Living (Reprise) is truly gut-wrenching. Her portrayal of Alison Mayhew is such a positive force within Dexter’s life and makes the impact needed to affect the audience. David’s portrayal of Dexter’s father equally shows the courage and pain of loss.
Dan Buckley’s Ian delivers some of the best one-liners and farcical comedy of the production, as well as embracing the darker, obsessive side of the character. A highlight is his portrayal of one of the bridal party in the Act Two opener. Whilst Kelly Hampson’s Sylvie is sharp, snippy, and comical, a perfect partner for Peter Hannah’s Callum, who equally portrays the same traits. Miracle Chance’s portrayal of Tilly is also a lovely comedic and reassuring character in this production.
Also featured in this production, delivering great vocals and visually exquisite choreography is Tanisha Butterfield, Matthew McKenna, Ewan Murphy, Kirsty Anne Shaw, Rachel Flynn (Swing), and Robin MacKenzie (Swing). The role of Jasmine is also shared by Ailsa Brown, Imogen Brown, and Isla Walker.
David Greig’s book adaptation of David Nicholls’ One Day does well to stay true to the original novel. Keeping the key elements of the narrative within the musical and allowing the pinnacle moments of Dex and Em’s relationship to blossom on stage. The ending of this book has a gut-wrenching blow to hammer to the audience and Greig does this brilliantly, so much so that even this reviewer couldn’t help but sob. This is a terrific adaptation.
Abner & Amanda Ramirez pen the music and lyrics, with additional lyrics from Jeremy Sams. The three do well to create music that complements the characters and narrative; it feels natural and not shoehorned in. The music feels placed well, and although not every song is a chart topper, that is the point, it has its purpose, to amplify and layer the narrative. With Nigel Lilley’s Musical Direction giving the band a high-quality sound, the full production sounds tremendous.
Max Webster’s direction for this production is detailed, contemporary and stunning. The idea of putting this show in the round within the Lyceum brings an intimate atmosphere to the show, along with creative storytelling. The show is two hours and forty minutes long with an interval, this is slightly too long, but it whizzes by due to how well paced Webster has made scenes. Carrie-Anne Ingrouille’s choreography builds on Max’s stunning vision by bringing simplistic yet truly gorgeous imagery. Rae Smith’s set and costume is intricate. Rae’s costume portrays the 80s, 90s and 00s with realism. The set is minimalistic due to the round staging, yet the standard of production values is sublime. Bruno Poet is the cherry on top of this creative team with an entrancing lighting design, with lights rising and falling from the ceiling, and the revolve having lights built in. This show is the best-looking production to come out of Scotland in decades.
One Day: The Musical is a stunning, heartwarming and gut-wrenching production. All the emotions you expect from David Nicholls’ captivating novel is portrayed with such care and beauty on stage.
Get tickets here – https://lyceum.org.uk/events/one-day
Photo credit: Mihaela Bodlovic.
Theatre Scotland 
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